NEW YORK – The Detroit Tigers' first loss in three weeks is
one that's going to stay with the players for a long time.

But not for the reasons you probably think.

Rather than expressing disappointment Friday over the end of their
12-game winning streak in a 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees, the Tigers were
instead marveling about another magic moment courtesy of reigning American
League MVP Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera was responsible for sending the game into extra
innings – the Tigers lost in 10 – by hitting a two-out, two-run homer to dead
center field in the top of the ninth inning to tie the score 3-3.

The Tigers are used to seeing Cabrera hit home runs – he's
got 34 this season and won the Triple Crown a year ago – but this one was a
little extra special.

For starters, he stayed alive by fouling a pitch down the
right-field line that just eluded the grasp of first baseman Lyle Overbay.
Then, he was left hobbling around the plate after fouling back-to-back pitches
off his leg.

Finally, he hit a 2-2 pitch to the deepest part of Yankee
Stadium off none other than Mariano Rivera, the future Hall of Famer who many
consider to be the best closer in Major League Baseball history.

No wonder the end of the winning streak wasn't at the
forefront of anyone's mind.

"It's like a movie, one of those crazy movies," raved Tigers
outfielder Torii Hunter. "I definitely think you've got
the best closer ever to play the game and probably the best hitter of our time
at the plate. It was like a movie.

"It looked like Mariano had him defeated. Foul ball off his
leg. Oh my God. 'I can't walk.' Then, homer. It was a perfect script. They
should make a movie off that at-bat. This is the best. This is unbelievable.
You can't script this better.

"They need to go to Hollywood and figure out a way to make a
movie off that at-bat. 'Greatness Greatness.' That's the name of the movie. This
dude is unbelievable. I've been with him for six months now and I'm still in
awe."

Cabrera's homer overshadowed an outstanding night at the
plate by Austin Jackson, who had three doubles among four hits.

It was Jackson's double in the ninth that started the rally
but like Hunter, he was left gushing at Cabrera's blast over the 408-foot sign
in center field.

"It's incredible," Jackson said. "I've seen him hit many
clutch home runs but to do it off pretty much the best closer in the game, that
definitely shows what type of hitter he is.

"We showed that we're able to come back in the tough situations.
You've got to battle all the way to the last out and we did that. We were able
to tie it up but we weren't able to come away with it."

The Tigers had plenty of chances in the first eight innings
as they stranded 10 runners while the Yankees built a 3-0 lead after Robinson
Cano's two-run triple over Jackson's head in the third inning.

The Tigers were also victimized by a couple of fielding gems when
Ichiro Suzuki robbed Cabrera of extra bases when he crashed into the wall in
the right-field corner in the third inning and Brett Gardner ran down Hunter's
liner to center in the fourth.

It was Gardner who finally won it for the Yankees in the
bottom of the 10th when he singled home Jayson Nix with the bases
loaded.

"They played hard, we played hard," said Tigers manager Jim
Leyland. "That's what we do. That's what we're supposed to do. It certainly
wasn't a lack of effort, a lack of competing. We tied it up in the ninth and had a chance. If
we get the big hit maybe we win. A lot of credit goes to them.

"It was just one heck of a major league baseball game."

Despite the loss, the Tigers (68-46) maintained their
seven-game lead in the Central Division since Cleveland lost 5-2 to the Angels.